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RMR Selection and training - a blow by blow account

General discussions on joining & training in the Royal Marines Reserve.
Chrisbrum
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RMR Selection and training - a blow by blow account

Post by Chrisbrum »

Hello there everyone, having recently applied to join the RMR in Birmingham I thought it might be beneficial to everyone on here if I kept a diary on here about the process that RMR recruits go through from first application to finally being awarded the green beret and passing out as a reserve commando.

Before I start, if anyone has any objection to this thread or thinks that it isn't relevant, let me know and I'll kill the thread. Additionally, this thread will be pretty slow to start with, as the reserve PRMC and subsequently RT doesn't start properly until September, however until then potential recruits can attend drill nights as part of 'holding troop' (more info on that later) and so if I learn anything useful from this experience I'll post it up here. Additionially, when RT does start properly, there could be some limits as to how much information I can divulge, but I'll post what I can if I think it'll be of benefit to other users on here.

So, to start with, a bit of background info about me. I'm currently a student at Aston Uni in Birmingham. I'm hoping to join the Marines as an officer after I graduate, but with 2 1/2 years left in my degree I've got a while to go yet before I can even consider doing POC! I have had a smattering of military experience in the past, including 5 years in the cadets and a year in the TA (as well as a few months in the c@#t I realised that it was more of a social club than a military outfit!). At the age of 16 I attempted my first POC, hoping to attain a scholarship through 6th form, but unfortunately was ill-prepared and unsuccessful (If anyone has any questions about the POC I'd be happy to try and answer them, although it's been 6 years since I was at Lympstone so there are probably people on these forums with more recent experience than myself). That was the last time I had any contact with the RM until recently.

After leaving the UOTC, I took a break of about 18 months from any sort of military activity and concentrated on university, but after one of my best mates from home joined the Navy last year, my interest has been renewed. With 2 1/2 years still left to go before graduating, I decided to try and gain some valuable experience by enlisting in the RMR - after all, surely if I can get myself to a level where I can pass the commando tests then I should be able to breeze through the POC!

The recruitment process of the RMR is very similar, if not identical to that of the regular marines. The first step is to contact either your local AFCO or your local detachment directly. There are 5 RMR units - London, Merseyside, Scotland, Tyne and Bristol, each with various detachments in nearby cities. All the RMR locations around the UK, along with unit contact details, can be found here:-

http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3009

Once you've contacted your unit, they'll invite you to visit the unit and take the Navy entrance tests - these are the same psychometric tests taken by all navy and marines recruits, reserve and regular, broken down into four sections - Reasoning, Verbal Ability, Numeracy and Mechanical Comprehension. The tests on the whole are fairly straightforward, although the time constraints make things a little more difficult. They'll send you a practice booklet before you take the test - make sure you have a go at it, as the way some of the questions are phrased isn't always entirely clear, and it helps to know what to expect!

After completing the tests, you'll probably have a quick chat with the Sergeant Major and possibly the OC, who'll tell you a little bit about the unit, although it's unlikely for most of you that you'll learn anything new.

If you pass the tests (when i did mine they were marked there and then, although other units may differ, and you may have to wait a few days for the results) the next stage is an eye test. You'll be sent a form for the optician to fill out and a stamped addressed envelope. It's up to you to book the appointment and get the optician to fill in the forms. The eye test is free of charge, and you'll also be given an invoice for the optician to fill out which will also be sent back to the RMR, who will pay for the test.

Assuming you pass the eye test, the next stage is an interview. This as far as I've come, so I can't tell you too much about the interview yet, but I'll definitely post more on it once I've been. I would imagine it would follow a similar pattern to the regular interviews, perhaps with a bit more focus on the reserves - make sure you know the 5 reserve units, and a little bit about the history of each unit, aswell as general information about the RM. I'll post more info on this when I have it.

For those who get past the interview, the next stage, as with the regulars, is the PJFT and the PRMC. However, the benefit that reservists do get which their regular counterparts do not is the option to attend 'holding troop'. Holding troop is run in the months leading up to the PRMC (RMR Merseyside only run one PRMC a year, in September, just before the start of RT - this could be different for other units) From what I can tell this could be better described as 'PT Troop'. You will have the joy of turning up on drill nights and getting beasted for a few hours by RMR PTIs. I believe the work is progressive, and will gradually build up towards the PRMC. Don't be fooled into thinking that simply attending holding troop is enough, however - you must put in maximum effort in your spare time aswell! Holding Troop for RMR Birmingham starts at the end of February, so I will update you as soon as I have more information. With regard to pay, you will not get paid for attending holding troop until you have successfully passed PRMC and begun RT, at which point you will receive backpay for all drill nights attended.

So, thats all I know so far. Any questions, feel free to ask. Sorry to those of you that know all this already, this is intended as a guide to those who have not yet started the process and are thinking about joining. I hope as time goes on and I start attending holding troop and, subsequently, RT, I'll be able to give you more useful information.

Cheers

Chris
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Interview

Post by Chrisbrum »

Well after realising I'd somehow misread the date on my letter I found my interview was today, rather than the 20th, as previously thought. Went down there at 10 o clock (after having rushed from uni having to do a presentation at 9!!)

The interview itself was fairly straightforward. I was asked all about my life, starting from a young age, my family background etc. This included information on parents careers, schooling, where I'd lived throughout my life, how long I'd been independent (living away from parents) etc. It then moved on to a brief mention of academic achievements, and extracurricular activities while at school and since leaving. This, I believe, is an important section - the more things you can say you have done, and the more achieved within those activities is bound to impress them. For those of you that don't already, try and get involved in team activities, younger applicants should seriously consider joining the cadets etc.

We talked a little about what phys I was currently doing, and established that I need to do more! I was already aware of this, however it does bring it into focus a little more when you're bluntly told by the careers advisor that you're not doing enough! I was also asked about my income and weekly outgoings - a rather bleak set of figures seen as I am currently a student with very little income!

Interestingly I was not quizzed about my knowledge of the Corps at all. I asked about this afterwards and was told that because I had come across well in the rest of the interview he did not feel that it was necessary to ask the questions, however with other candidates it is more likely that he would check to make sure they had done their research. Bottom line is, make sure you know your stuff! Info such as the Corps birthday, VCs, knowledge of the PRC and PJFT, knowledge of the history of the corps both pre and post WW2 (and the first appointment of the RM as commandos) could be vital.

It is difficult to give a definite guide for the interview as it could vary dramatically from one applicant to the next. So long as you know your stuff about the Corps and have plenty to talk about with regard to yourself and your activities you should be well prepared.

One piece of advice I can give is to dress smart and turn up on time! Wear a suit, and make sure you're at the AFCO at least 5 minutes early. Because of my screw up with the dates of the interview, I only realised at 8.30 this morning that I was due in today, and did not have time to get my suit ready. The best I could manage was jeans, a shirt and trainers - it was definitely noted, and commented on, and I felt like a fool! Luckily the interview itself went very well for me, and so my dress didn't affect the overall result, but on a more borderline case it may have done. Don't take the risk (as I did), dress smart!

On the whole, it all went well, and I passed to the next stage. As previously mentioned, it's not easy to give a definite account of what is involved in the interview, as it varies from person to person, depending on the person running the interview and depending on the candidate himself, but I hope I've been able to give a good general guidline as to what is involved.

I would appreciate any feedback on these accounts, let me know if you find it useful.

Next stage - medical and PJFT. I'll have to wait a few weeks for the medical, as the AFCO need to get hold of my old medical documents from my previous TA unit. The PJFT must be completed within 28 days of passing the medical. I'm also due to start holding troop on the 27th, so I'll be giving some details of that on here when the time comes.

Just a quick word on Holding Troop - I think i was mistaken in my previous post when I said that Holding Troop is available only for RMR applicants. I believe that those going for regular selection are also eligible to attend. Speak to your careers advisor for more details, or call your local detachment direct.

Til next time

Chris
chewbacca
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interesting reading

Post by chewbacca »

Chris - this is interesting reading - please keep the updates coming.

And good luck for the next steps.
sandam
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Post by sandam »

Just to confirm, HT is available to people interested in joining the regulars as well. I'm one of them who is going this route. Also a good idea because HT will help with regular marine training when you get to CTC such as rope climbing, correct pressup technique (I see alot of posts about scores deducted for poor form), etc.
Application Dec '06
Psychometrics 15/01/2007 - Passed
Eye Test 28/01/07 - Passed (VA1)
Interview 01/02/2007 - Passed
Medical 01/02/2007 - Failed (have to lose 3 kg's)
Medical 2 - ? (Just have to weigh in)
PJFT - ?
PRMC - ?
rc
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Post by rc »

I would appreciate any feedback on these accounts, let me know if you find it useful.
Good effort Chris, I'm sure these accounts will be of value to prospective recruits.

Rich.
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Post by PhilM »

Great reading mate! Sh*tting myself about having to do the same later in the year however!
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Post by Beowulf »

PhilM wrote:Great reading mate! Sh*tting myself about having to do the same later in the year however!
Hi Phil, RM or RMR mate?
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Post by PhilM »

RMR :D
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Post by Beowulf »

PhilM wrote:RMR :D
And the list grows, good effort! :wink:

What you waiting for though?
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Post by PhilM »

Life & my fitness to improve really, the latter is coming on well I feel.

Go see my Fighting Fit post in
the RM Forum, explains that I'm not sure if I will have to relocate in the summer, looks promising from what the boss said today, but depends how fast the penpushers at the CAA work!
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Post by Beast »

Well done Chris, keep us informed! 8)
Have made this post a Sticky so that this thread remains at the top.
Chrisbrum
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Post by Chrisbrum »

And so the saga continues. Tonight I attended my first Holding Troop. Not a great deal to tell you about this, it was essentially two hours of phys!

I managed to arrive just on time, having been held up by traffic caused by the football. I should have thought about this beforehand - HMS Forward is located right next to St Andrews football ground, and I knew there was a match on tonight as I'm a Leeds fan and we were playing! I originally had a ticket for the game but when I got my holding troop dates I had to cancel it - was a bit demoralising when we were running round the car park and I could hear all the Leeds fans singing and chanting, knowing that I could have been in there rather than breathing through my hoop in a car park!

We met up in the classroom, where we were given a bit of paperwork to fill in, and from there it was straight to the changing rooms to change into PT kit.

By Marines standards the session was easy. By my standards it was pretty tough going, especially the running side. There was only one PTI around tonight and he had to manage us as well as some of the phase 1 recruits at the same time. After warming up with a few laps of the car park, we were then left to run endless laps round the camp while the phase 1 lads were doing rope climbing and regains. My running is nowhere near up to scratch, and by the end I found myself falling behind.

Next up it was into the gym, where we were given a brief introduction to the machines, followed immediately by circuits on various exercises, including dips, bench presses, lateral pulldowns, bicep curls, shoulder presses and inclined situps. We did a few exercises with the free weights, and then it was back outside to run laps of the camp as a warm down.

One word of advice - if you're issued a kit list MAKE SURE YOU BRING EVERYTHING! Sounds stupid I know, but one lad hadn't brought a towel, and had to borrow mine after having a shower, and I think another lad didn't have anything at all - he turned up in a tracksuit, did his phys and then dunked his head under a tap afterwards. To be fair to him, I get the impression he's at an early stage in the process, so it could be that he hasn't received his official invite and kit list yet, he's just been told to attend and didn't know what to expect.

Finally, it was back into the classroom to finish off the paperwork, and we also had a chance to ask a few questions about the RMR and RT. To be honest there was nothing really mentioned that I didn't already know, but I think a few of the other lads hadn't got as far through the process as me and didn't have as much info.

All in all, a pretty steady first session, although as I said, I struggled with the running and was falling behind a lot. I had expected this to a certain extent though, as I know my running isn't anywhere near the required standards yet. Rest day tomorrow, then time to crack on with the phys again on thursday! I hope to see an improvement by next week and be able to keep up with the pack, as I suspect when we have more organised sessions it's all gonna get a lot harder!
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Post by Beowulf »

Couple of questions Chris, how many were in holding troop, how many were in Phase 1 & 2?

Cheers mate,
Chrisbrum
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Post by Chrisbrum »

There were 6 of us starting holding troop last night, although they expect there to be more joining over time. There was also a lad who'd been backtrooped who'll be joining in with us next week. There were 3 lads in phase 1 who I think are going on their phase 1 course down at Lympstone next week. Other than that there were a few more on Phase 2 and a couple of trained ranks, but we didn't really them much so not sure on numbers.
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Post by Chrisbrum »

This weeks holding troop was much more structured than the last one. The session was broken down into two periods - one period of phys, followed by a lecture on Corps history.

The phys session was a basic assessment of our fitness, including situps (2mins), pushups (unlimited time), burpees (1min) and pullups (unlimited time), followed by a 300m sprints, broken down into 15 grids of 20m each (normally it's 10 grids of 30m, but space was limited). I found these sprints quite challenging, as the way they are broken down into grids mean you have to stop and accelerate all the time, and can't just pound the 300m as quickly as possible!

I fared much better this week than last week, although my pushups and pullups need a lot more work. I can't remember my exact scores, but the PTI is posting them on the wall of the gym next week so we can monitor our progress - I'll post them once I have seen them again. On the whole, I was happy with my progress this week, especially the running (I wasn't at the end this time!!)

With regard to the troop itself, it was good to see everyone start to bond a bit more - we had a trip to the bar after we'd finished and got chatting a bit - two of the lads have been backtrooped and were spinning a few dits from their previous training, which helped break the ice a little! One thing that surprised me a little was the age range, which spans from 17 up to 37! Numbers are growing aswell - there are now 8 of us, including the two backtrooped lads, with another 2 set to join us next week.

From now on I'm not going to post details of holding troop unless I think there is something specific worth mentioning, as I believe the format will be similar every week. Barring any significant developments in holding troop, the next posts will be regarding the medical and PJFT, and following that, the selection weekend.

Chris
RMR
Written Test - Passed
Eye Test - Passed
Interview - Passed
Medical - Awaiting date
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